Exit Becks: David Beckham retiring at season’s end LONDON (AP) — End it like Beckham. David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer. Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and became its highest-paid player, with a fortune estimated at $250 million. The 38-year-old former England captain said Thursday he would quit afte...

Bangladesh garment disaster death toll reaches 705 DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Hundreds of garment factory workers who survived a building collapse in Bangladesh protested for compensation, as the death toll from the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster passed 700. The police control room overseeing the recovery operation said the death toll stood at 705 on Tuesday afternoon as workers pulled more bodies out of the wreckage of the eight-story building that was packed with workers at five garm...

Syria news agency: Israel strikes near Damascus BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli missiles struck a research center near the Syrian capital Damascus, setting off explosions and causing casualties, Syria’s state news agency reported early Sunday, citing initial reports. If confirmed, it would be the second Israeli strike on targets in Syria in three days, signaling a sharp escalation of Israel’s involvement in Syria’s bloody civil war. There was no immediate Israeli comment. However, Israel has said it ...

Obama: US, Latin America must strengthen economies SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — President Barack Obama came to Latin America eager to move the region’s relationship with the U.S. beyond fighting drugs and organized crime, yet the pervasive problems still trailed him throughout his three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica. In the Costa Rican capital Friday, Obama defended his administration’s efforts to stem U.S. demand for drugs that many regional leaders see as a driving factor in their securit...

Bangladesh official: Disaster not ’really serious’ DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The death toll in the factory-building collapse in Bangladesh rose to more than 530 on Saturday, a day after the country’s finance minister downplayed the impact of the disaster on the garment industry, saying he didn’t think it was “really serious.” Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith spoke as the government cracked down on those it blamed for the disaster in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. It suspended Savar’s mayor a...

Benedict XVI returns to Vatican for first time VATICAN CITY (AP) — Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI came home to the Vatican on Thursday for the first time since he resigned Feb. 28, beginning an unprecedented era for the Catholic Church of having a retired pontiff living alongside a reigning one. Pope Francis welcomed Benedict outside his new retirement home — a converted monastery on the edge of the Vatican gardens — and the two immediately went into the adjoining chapel to pray together, the ...

Obama, Mexican president talk economy, security MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Barack Obama sought on Thursday to tamp down a potential rift with Mexico over a dramatic shift in the cross-border fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, acceding that Mexicans had the right to determine how best to tackle the violence that has plagued their country. Since taking office in December, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has moved to end the widespread access that U.S. security agencies...

Mexico seeks new security, economic agenda with US MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s is ending the widespread access it gave to U.S. security agencies in the name of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, but President Barack Obama said Tuesday he won’t judge the change until he meets this week with the country’s new leader. Under President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office on Dec. 1, Mexico is ending direct sharing among law enforcement of resources and intelligence as the new government ...

Bangladesh building collapse death toll hits 359 SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) — Police in Bangladesh took six people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building that killed at least 359 people, as rescue workers admitted that voices of survivors are getting weaker after four days of being pinned under the increasingly unstable rubble. Still, in a boost for the rescuers, 29 survivors were pulled out Saturday, said army spokesman Shahinul Islam. Most of the victim...

2 arrested as death toll in Bangladesh reaches 324 SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) — Two owners of garment factories in a Bangladesh building that collapsed into a pile of mangled metal and concrete have been arrested as public fury mounts over the accident that left at least 324 dead. Junior Home Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku said Saturday that police had arrested Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd., and Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, the company chairman. He told reporters that police ha...

Workers pinned in Bangladesh rubble cry for rescue SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) — “Save us, brother. I beg you, brother,” Mohammad Altab moaned to the rescuers who could not help him. He had been trapped for more than 24 hours, pinned between slabs of concrete in the ruins of the garment factory building where he worked. “I want to live,” he pleaded, his eyes glistening with tears as he spoke of his two young children. “It’s so painful here.” Altab should not have been in the building when it collap...

Factory building collapse in Bangladesh kills 149 SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) — Rescuers tried to free people believed trapped in the concrete rubble of a building housing mainly garment factories that collapsed in Bangladesh a day after workers complained cracks had developed in the structure. The death toll jumped Thursday to 149 after searchers worked through the night. “Many” people are still trapped, said the rescue operations leader, army Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said Thursd...

Suspect in Canada terror plot denies charges TORONTO (AP) — A man accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada rejected the charges and said Tuesday that authorities were basing their conclusions on appearances. Law enforcement officials in the U.S. said the target was a train that runs between New York City and Canada. Canadian investigators say Raed Jaser, 35, and his suspected accomplice Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, received guidance — but no money — from me...

Photographer’s loss offers hope for Boston wounded BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — In the first horrific moments after the Boston bombing, with smoke still billowing around the wounded, I know what is going through the minds of the maimed victims. They are at once conscious and unconscious. They want to scream, but they cannot scream. They want to wake up from a nightmare, but they are awake. Overcome with a sense of deja vu, I feel my past converge with the future of those wounded spectators. I lost ...

UN official hopeful about 2015 climate talks DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Governments are more serious and the impact of climate change is more dramatic, improving chances of a groundbreaking global warming pact in 2015 in contrast with the failure of such an effort in 2009, the U.N. climate chief said Tuesday. The climate change talks in Copenhagen were a resounding failure, setting back the movement to control global warming. Even so, the U.N. official, Christiana Figueres, is op...

China rushes relief after Sichuan quake kills 179 YA’AN, China (AP) — Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China’s Sichuan province Sunday after an earthquake left at least 179 people dead and more than 6,700 injured and caused frightened survivors spent a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters. The earthquake Saturday morning triggered landslides that cut off roads and disrupted phone and power connections in mountainous Lushan county, further sou...

New app helps Icelanders avoid accidental incest REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — You meet someone, there’s chemistry, and then come the introductory questions: What’s your name? Come here often? Are you my cousin? In Iceland, a country with a population of 320,000 where most everyone is distantly related, inadvertently kissing cousins is a real risk. A new smartphone app is on hand to help Icelanders avoid accidental incest. The app lets users “bump” phones, and emits a warning alarm if they are c...

Britain’s Iron Lady laid to rest with full pomp LONDON (AP) — Margaret Thatcher was laid to rest Wednesday with prayers and ceremony, plus cheers and occasional jeers, as Britain paused to remember a leader who transformed the country — for the better according to many, but in some eyes for the worse. Soaring hymns, Biblical verse and fond remembrances echoed under the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, as 2,300 relatives, friends, colleagues and dignitaries attended a ceremonial funeral for Bri...

Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady, dead at 87LONDON (AP) — Love her or loathe her, one thing's beyond dispute: Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain. The Iron Lady, who ruled for 11 remarkable years, imposed her will on a fractious, rundown nation — breaking the unions, triumphing in a far-off war, and selling off state industries at a record pace. She left behind a leaner government and more prosperous nation by the time a mutiny ousted her from No. 10 Downing Street. Thatcher's spokesm...

Knox saga still not over for Italian courts ROME (AP) — It’s not over yet for Amanda Knox. Italy’s top criminal court dealt a stunning setback Tuesday to the 25-year-old college student, overturning her acquittal in the grisly murder of her British roommate and ordering her to stand trial again. “She thought that the nightmare was over,” Knox’s attorney, Carlo Dalla Vedova, told reporters minutes after conveying the unexpected turn of events to his client, who had stayed up to hear the ...